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MovieMail's Review
With spectacular Panavision cinematography and a breathtaking score, Franklin J. Schaffner’s fine historical adventure is thoroughly absorbing and rich in period flavour, says Rick Burin.
Norman war lord Charlton Heston is sent by Duke William of Ghent to keep a group of marsh-dwelling peasants in order, while protecting them from Frisian raiders. Instead, he falls for a blue-eyed pig farmer (Rosemary Forsyth) betrothed to one of his subjects, and all hell breaks loose. Aided by a duplicitous dwarf, the serfs decide to make peace with their pillaging tormentors and lay siege to Heston’s high tower, as the lord’s brooding brother (Guy Stockwell) stalks the stronghold, looking shifty.
Franklin J. Schaffner’s ambitious drama, set in the 11th century, is a genuinely unusual piece of work, with a rich period flavour and an intriguing plot that casts light on an under-served area of European history. The opening scenes are impressively creepy, paving the way for The Wicker Man in the way they tease and taunt the viewer: is Forsyth really a witch, or her people devil-worshippers? Then Schaffner shifts to character drama, coupled with an insightful look at Middle Age rituals, before leading us into the excellent action sequences, which appear utterly authentic. The superbly-paced siege, recalling the climax of George Stevens’ classic Gunga Din, must surely have informed Peter Jackson’s filming of the Helm’s Deep set-piece in The Two Towers.
Schaffner coaxes some great performances from his actors. Stockwell, continually peddling dreadful advice to his troubled sibling, is excellent in a showy role, displaying just the right mix of menace and quivering insecurity. But top honours go to Richard Boone, underplaying to maximum effect as Heston’s trusted lieutenant. As for Chuck, he’s well cast and adopts his popular persona, while there’s a chance for fans to hear him anticipate the most famous line of his career, complaining to Stockwell that he’s sick of “that damned dirty armour”.
The film is blessed with spectacular Panavision cinematography by Russell Metty and a breathtaking score from Jerome Moross. The music can be listened to in isolation on the DVD, interspersed with the soundtrack’s impressive effects, like a gargantuan, flaming wood pile rumbling deafeningly towards a fortress.
The War Lord is an absorbing, marvellously-photographed historical drama: offbeat, original and very satisfying.
One of the finest historical adventure films ever made, The War Lord dramatises with uncommon intelligence and integrity the brutality, difficulties and injustices of the Middle Ages.
Charlton Heston stars as Chrysagon, an honoured knight who takes over a castle tower in the swampland of Normandy to strengthen his duke's authority. But his struggles to maintain power in the face of pagan villagers, barbarian attackers and his brother's jealous counsel are shaken by his growing weariness with bloodshed in a cruel world.
Never before released for home viewing in the UK, this collaboration between director Franklin J. Schaffner and Charlton Heston, three years before their iconic reunion on Planet of the Apes, is a gripping saga of ferocious battles, heartfelt emotion and powerful storytelling.
